The 2018 FIFA World Cup, held in Russia, was perfectly organized. This is recognized even by foreign media such as the Australian broadcaster SBS and the American publications The New York Times and Washington Post. He was full of bright events, joyful, sad and curious moments.
Let's remember together highlights of the mundial 2018.
10. Wet ceremony
It’s like nature, it’s a pity that the 2018 World Cup ended, and she celebrated this event in her own way - heavy rain during the awards ceremony at Luzhniki Stadium. This took everyone by surprise. We quickly managed to get only one umbrella, which went to ... Russian President Vladimir Putin! Then there were umbrellas for the rest of the VIPs.
For the leader of France, Emanuel Macron, even a hurricane could not wipe a happy smile off his face, and Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic kissed the goblet (apparently for good luck) and hugged the French football players. This award ceremony will surely be remembered by all those present for a long time.
9. Dziuba: I have the honor
Having scored a goal against Saudi Arabia, Russian footballer Artem Dziuba joyfully ran to the bench, where the Russian team coach was. Stanislav Cherchesov saluted his striker, raising his hand to his bare head. The match ended 5-0 in favor of the Russian team.
In the next game with the Egyptian team, Dziuba excelled again, scoring a goal against the opponent. And already he welcomed Cherchesov, putting one palm on his head (imitation of a headdress), and the second saluting the mentor. Perhaps the military greeting will be the signature gesture of the Russian striker.
8. Hole of happiness
Croatian fans found by personal example how well the road services in Nizhny Novgorod work. Seeing on one of the city roads a huge pit, without thinking twice, climbed into it. The picture with laughing football fans, taken on June 21, instantly scattered across the Runet.
The author of the picture, Yuri Popov, signed it on his Facebook: “Hole of happiness. An unprecedented Nizhny Novgorod attraction pleases foreign visitors to the city. As the saying goes, "there will be something to talk about at home!"
Ashamed road builders on June 22 completely paved the failure.
7. The trio in kokoshniks
The top 10 most memorable events of the FIFA World Cup would be incomplete without mentioning a trio of spectators in kokoshniks who chew cheesy sausages during the Russia-Spain match. After all, it instantly gained enormous popularity. A lot of memes appeared on the Web dedicated to the family of eaters (Dmitry Gnatyuk, his wife Inna and nephew Yuri) and she was even recognized as the mascot of the Russian team. And while Russia could not compete with the French for the title of winner of the 2018 World Cup, we will forever remember the wonderful game of our team and our colorful fans.
6. Cheerleader pornstar
Nothing boded ill when the editors of Channel One decided to place a beautiful cheerleader on the main page of the site, in a kokoshnik and with the inscription Russia on the topic. However, Runet users identified the girl Natalya Nemchinova (aka Natalya Andreeva), the star of adult films. A fan passport with the name and surname of a porn actress got into the cameras during the broadcast of the Russia-Egypt match. It turned out that Natalia is an avid fan and constantly attends matches in clothes with Russian symbols.
After the scandal “Channel One” erupted, he quickly replaced Natalya’s photo with a photo of another beauty not seen in “defamatory ties”.
5. False pain of Neymar
The captain of the Brazilian national team is a born actor. Maybe he doesn’t have enough talent, but emotionality and readiness to repeat the scene again and again - more than enough. Neymar so enthusiastically rolled around the field, imitating an unbearable pain, which seemed: a little more and he will really hurt. In total, for 5 football matches, Neymar was in the “lying” position on Russian lawns for 14 minutes.
But there is no silver lining. Simulations of a Brazilian soccer player inspired Portuguese physicians to create social advertising. It explains the importance of urgent medical calls. The Brazilian striker is shown on the advertising image, and the text next to it reads “75.8% of ambulance calls are not emergency.”
4. The fame and blunder of Mario Fernandez
This Brazilian, who accepted Russian citizenship, throughout the World Cup demonstrated a perfect game. It was he who made an excellent assist for Cheryshev during the match with the Egyptians, and then saved our team from losing to the Spaniards in extra time.
One of the best moments of the 2018 World Cup is how Fernandez scored a goal for the Croats, giving hope to all Russian fans. Unfortunately, Mario was not lucky in the penalty shootout, he was probably tired and shot past the gate.
3. The Russian "Panenka" Smolova
This is one of the saddest moments associated with the 2018 FIFA World Cup. The young striker of the Russian national team in the penalty shoot-out sacrificed a goal for the sake of the performance performance in the Panenki style. For this, Fedor Smolov was subjected to the most severe criticism both from fellow athletes and from football fans. However, the moment was missed, the Croatian national team won that ill-fated, but very entertaining match, and Russia as a result was not able to compete for the title of World Cup winner.
2. The first ever football goal in the World Cup final
During the match between the French and the Croats, which ended the 2018 world Cup, the Croatian striker Mario Mandzhukic inadvertently sent the ball into the goal of his team.
In the eighteenth minute, the French national team received a free-kick, and forward Antoine Griezmann gave the pitch. Due to the fact that Mandzhukich jumped very high in the “wall”, the ball hit his head and flew into the net of the Croats, bypassing the goalkeeper. And although Mandzhukich quickly rehabilitated, having scored a goal against the opponent’s goal, the game ended with a score of 4: 2 in favor of France.
1. Akinfeev’s leg
Diego Maradona's “Hand of God” is considered one of the best goals in football history. Now “Akinfeev’s leg” will join her. The goalkeeper of the Russian national team, for whom the 2018 World Cup was very successful, showed himself best during the game with Spain. He managed to repel two strongest blows - Koke and Iago Aspasa - and Igor Akinfeev hit his second blow. In honor of this event, the Art-Grani company issued a large gold medal that depicts Akinfeev’s ball and "happy leg." This impromptu talisman will be handed to coach Stanislav Cherchesov.
Donation Mbappe
Another event occurred after the World Cup, but it is worthy of a separate mention. The young French striker Kilian Mbappe decided to donate the money he earned as part of the national team to the needs of children with disabilities. The amount of donation Mbappe is 550 thousand dollars.
